Ayn Rand: 'Goddess of the Market'

Goddess of the Market: Ayn Rand and the American Right, by Jennifer Burns, Oxford University Press, October, 2009Several days back, Mark Levin, author of the bestselling book "Tyranny and Liberty", responded in the American Thinker to a somewhat critical review of his book in the Weekly Standard by Peter Berkowitz . Berkowitz's review and Levin's response, a debate in part over how firmly and consistently conservatives should resist the growing power of the state, are a suitable backdrop for considering a new biography of Ayn Rand by University of Virginia History Professor Jennifer Burns. For Rand, more even than Levin, was a purist, and brooked no moderation around the edges of the philosophy she developed, which came to be known as objectivism. Rand challenged critics and dissenters to prove her ideas wrong, and thrilled by the challenge of taking on all comers in debates on her ideas. Her life was one of intellectual battles, including a...(Read Full Article)